1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bearings. More specifically, the invention is directed to rotary bearing supports of the shaft-hanger, wall-bracket type.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bearing housings in the form of rotary bearing supports of the shaft-hanger, wall-bracket type have been made as castings and of stamped metal construction. Castings are more expensive than stamped metal, but such castings have greater strength for mounting a bearing flush with a wall. One-piece, thin-stock, stampings have been substituted for such castings, but the stampings are of limited strength due to forming limits of the sheet stock. Such stampings include an axially extending hub and a mounting flange projecting radially outward at one end of the hub. As the hub-length increases, it is more difficult to form the housing by a thin-stock stamping because the metal section between the hub and the radial flange is reduced in forming. To overcome this difficulty, two one-piece stampings have been used with the mounting flanges positioned back to back. Spacers are provided between the wall and the adjacent mounting flange face. Such construction is more costly and less reliable because of the added parts in the assembly that introduce additional variations. Alignment of this bolted construction is difficult. The bearing life can be limited by forcing operation of the bearing in a non-aligned orientation. Such two-piece stampings do not permit assembly of the bearing as a unit before installation. Two hands are required for locating the two-piece stampings, spacer, bearing assembly, and bolts. This requires additional assembly time.
Two-piece bearing housings are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,924,937 of Leister dated Aug. 29, 1933; U.S. Pat. No. 2,549,144 of Amos dated Apr. 17, 1951; U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,519 of Spicacci et al. dated May 20, 1958; U.S. Pat. No. 2,916,336 of Andreini dated Dec. 8, 1959; and U.S. Pat. No. 3506317 of DeAngeli dated Apr. 14, 1970. None of these patents shows a thin-stock stamping end cap in combination with a thick plate for mounting a bearing adjacent a wall to support a rotatable shaft that projects perpendicularly through the wall.